Would a Master's degree help my chance of getting in?

[illgetin1day]

Does anyone think that a Masters degree in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics or in Pharmacology and Toxicology would be helpful? I am graduating in May with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences, however my GPA is pretty low and not competative it will just about make it to a 3.0(do to some personal issues). Should I continue with school and get my Masters in a Pharmacy relatated field and improve my GPA? or should I just retake more of the same classes I have already taken? All my prerequisits are decent grades, its the other classes that arent required that I didn't do well in or withdrew from. Also, does pharmcas use the higher grade when calculating? or does it average the two? And are there any pharmacy organizations I can join if my school doesn't have any (like any national ones or something)?

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[goinkhead]

i decided to go for my masters instead of retaking classes. if i could do it again, i would retake classes. ive said this before...and ill say it agian...it seems as if adcoms dont really care for a masters. IMO, what theyre really looking for, initially, is a good competitive pre-pharmacy gpa, if you've got that, than everything else (masters degree) will put you over the hill.

my opinion is first, work on that prepharm gpa. and 2. if you go for a masters, make sure its in a field that you enjoy...its a 2 year commitment, so tha tmeans you wont be applying to pharmacy schools in that 2 year span.

Does anyone think that a Masters degree in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics or in Pharmacology and Toxicology would be helpful? I am graduating in May with a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences, however my GPA is pretty low and not competative it will just about make it to a 3.0(do to some personal issues). Should I continue with school and get my Masters in a Pharmacy relatated field and improve my GPA? or should I just retake more of the same classes I have already taken? All my prerequisits are decent grades, its the other classes that arent required that I didn't do well in or withdrew from. Also, does pharmcas use the higher grade when calculating? or does it average the two? And are there any pharmacy organizations I can join if my school doesn't have any (like any national ones or something)?

 

[collegegirl247]

I agree.... I was going to do my masters but opted out last second...instead I re-took classes, worked at a pharmacy, and practiced interviewing....it did much more for me than a masters ever could have done...plus if you tie yourself up in a 2 year masters program..thats 2 more years that you could have gotten into pharmacy school.... I didnt have a great gpa before retaking classes either...but I became so passionate about pharmacy and after learning how to interview I am confident that even with a lower gpa and pcat I still would have gotten in....it made all the difference for me

 

[illgetin1day]

I agree.... I was going to do my masters but opted out last second...instead I re-took classes, worked at a pharmacy, and practiced interviewing....it did much more for me than a masters ever could have done...plus if you tie yourself up in a 2 year masters program..thats 2 more years that you could have gotten into pharmacy school.... I didnt have a great gpa before retaking classes either...but I became so passionate about pharmacy and after learning how to interview I am confident that even with a lower gpa and pcat I still would have gotten in....it made all the difference for me

did you end up getting in anywhere? or are you still taking classes?

 

[collegegirl247]

no..im done with classes, I was accepted to 3 schools : )

 

[tharper14]

Also, does pharmcas use the higher grade when calculating? or does it average the two?

Pharmcas averages the two.

 

[confettiflyer]

Master's degree will help of course (assuming you didn't get straight C's and nearly fail out of the program). But I wouldn't shell out the money if you're just trying to get into pharmacy school. 1-2 years remedial at the CC level will help assuming you have a BA/BS from a university already.

If you're trying to go allo, then by all means a MA/MS degree will enhance your application. In some cases, it's crucial, but not for pharmacy.

 

[pharmgrl5]

Not sure really. I hate admitting this but I have 12 credit hours of failed classes. It was also due to some personal issues. I'm now looking further down the line to see what I can do to help correct this. I've been considering the idea of needing to complete a B.A. or B.S. but am debating the whole idea of masters. First line of defense against bad grades though really should be retaking classes. Then if you still need a raise in GPA then look at a master's or a second B.S. or B.A.

 

[mustang sally]

I was very successful in my masters degree program (4.0 gpa, numerous awards and grants), and I don't think I am getting in anywhere. So I would probably say no. Of course, I'm sure it varies from application to application, but I feel like having a masters degree makes you seem too research oriented, and it doesn't really seem like this is what adcoms are looking for (IMHO). If you are really interested in having the masters for career purposes, then I say go for it. But if you are just doing it as a gpa booster to get into grad school, then I would advise some alternative to improve your application.

 

[mrblah]

Not sure really. I hate admitting this but I have 12 credit hours of failed classes. It was also due to some personal issues. I'm now looking further down the line to see what I can do to help correct this. I've been considering the idea of needing to complete a B.A. or B.S. but am debating the whole idea of masters. First line of defense against bad grades though really should be retaking classes. Then if you still need a raise in GPA then look at a master's or a second B.S. or B.A.

You may consider USN's academic forgiveness policy and other schools that have similar offerings.

As someone said, most schools will give you some points for a masters, but it will not replace your undergrad performance.

 

[karmaja]

I also had a low gpa coming out of undergraduate. I decided to get my master's in public health. I did fairly well (mostly A's, and even a couple of published articles). I thought that getting my master's did well for me. I was able to learn more about conducting research as well as practices when doing mass health education and public health (which I am interested in) but it also gave me another career option if I failed to get into pharmacy school. I can't tell which will be best for you, but you should take a good look at what kind of pharmacist you want to be. If you just want to practice pharmacy in a retail or hospital setting, then retaking your classes might be best. If you want to learn more about research or other areas of pharmacy (even working in for a pharmaceutical company), you might want to consider getting a master's degree. Just food for thought.

 

[illgetin1day]

I also had a low gpa coming out of undergraduate. I decided to get my master's in public health. I did fairly well (mostly A's, and even a couple of published articles). I thought that getting my master's did well for me. I was able to learn more about conducting research as well as practices when doing mass health education and public health (which I am interested in) but it also gave me another career option if I failed to get into pharmacy school. I can't tell which will be best for you, but you should take a good look at what kind of pharmacist you want to be. If you just want to practice pharmacy in a retail or hospital setting, then retaking your classes might be best. If you want to learn more about research or other areas of pharmacy (even working in for a pharmaceutical company), you might want to consider getting a master's degree. Just food for thought.

Did you end up getting in? If so where?

 

[stkyrice]

I have a master's degree in sociology and did doctoral studies in medical sociology, and I think if anything, interviewers asked me why I decided to switch gears and go to pharmacy school instead of sticking with sociology. In my interviews at UCSF and Hawai'i, I explained that I wasn't interested in becoming a researcher as a career, BUT doing my postgraduate studies also helped me fine tune my capability to conduct research and appreciate it. At the same time, retaking all the classes made me realize that this was what I wanted to do, especially learning about the basic pharmacology of some drugs in my general bio and physio classes, and doing the volunteering and all that.

As everyone else has said, it was doing the post-bac and getting the 3.7 that got me the interviews at the schools I applied to rather than the post-graduate degree (I had a 2.6 GPA in undergrad, so go fig).

 

[karmaja]

Did you end up getting in? If so where?

Yes, I got into Mercer, University of Cincinnati and South University.

 

[gldvue]

Yes, I got into Mercer, University of Cincinnati and South University.

THis Aug I will start my MPH... but after reading this forum I'm a little nervous. If you don't mind can you tell me what your undergrad GPA was?

 

[StringTheorist]

will it help? yes, obviously. would it be a waste of time, overall? i think so. just retake the prereqs you did bad on in a year, and thats a better expenditure of time. a 3.7 prepharm GPA looks better than a 3.0 with a masters.

 

[se20001984]

Why dont you do your masters and at the same time take more classes/pre req's part time?? for a gpa boost (yes its not a full course load but its2 years of classes incl summer) so it may have a + effect

I know a couple of people doing that...

 

[karmaja]

THis Aug I will start my MPH... but after reading this forum I'm a little nervous. If you don't mind can you tell me what your undergrad GPA was?

I think that I had an undergrad gpa of 3.2